Carbon dots with pH-responsive fluorescence: a review on synthesis and cell biological applications
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REVIEW ARTICLE
Carbon dots with pH-responsive fluorescence: a review on synthesis and cell biological applications Hamide Ehtesabi 1 & Zahra Hallaji 2 & Shima Najafi Nobar 3 & Zeinab Bagheri 1 Received: 9 August 2019 / Accepted: 17 December 2019 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This review summarizes state of the art synthesis and applications of carbon dots (CDs) with pH-responsive fluorescence. Following an introduction, the first section covers methods for the preparation of pH-responsive CDs, with subsections on general methods for preparing CDs (by hydrothermal, solvothermal, electrochemical, microwave, laser ablation, pyrolysis or chemical oxidation polymerization methods), and on precursors for synthesis. This is followed by a section on the mechanisms of pH-responsivity (by creating new functional groups, change of energy levels, protonation and deprotonation, aggregation, or by introduction shells). Several Tables are presented that give an overview of the wealth of methods and materials. A final section covers applications of carbon dots (CDs) with pH-responsive fluorescence for sensing, drug delivery, and imaging. The conclusion summarizes the current status, addresses challenges, and gives an outlook on potential future trends. Keywords Carbon dots . pH-responsive fluorescence . Hydrothermal synthesis . pH-responsive mechanism . pH sensing . Drug delivery . Imaging agent
Introduction The pH value is an important parameter regardless of the environment or organism cells. At the cellular level, pH plays a vital role in many cellular events such as proliferation, apoptosis, ion transport, calcium regulation, cell migration, and response to therapy [1, 2]. In living cells, various physiological processes work to keep the pH constant within a specific range. If the pH changes only slightly, led to inappropriate cell function, growth, and division. Sensitive and selective probes for monitoring pH in living cells are essential for a better understanding of the biological effects of pH gradients. The ideal probe for intracellular applications must meet some requirements. It has to be readable with high space-time resolution. It must be biocompatible and must not be disturbed by parameter changes other * Zeinab Bagheri [email protected] 1
Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University G.C, Tehran 19839-69411, Iran
2
Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran 14117-13116, Iran
3
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran 19697-64499, Iran
than the amount of interest [1, 3]. Among the various approaches for measuring pH, fluorescent probes show important advantages because of their operational simplicity, high sensitivities, short response time, and low cost [4–6]. Moreover, fluorescence techniques are in most cases nondestructive to cells [7–17]. To date, Organic fluorophores [18–21], fluorescent proteins [22–26], and fluorescent nanomaterials [1, 27–33] have conveniently employed
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